Keeping it reel: Cassettes still popular

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There is something more than drinking and eating at these resto bars. People enjoy going to these places as often as they can because of the retro feel. And a few places have still stuck to the now rare cassettes. K Elangovan, who runs the show at Pecos on Brigade road, has put up a collection of 1200 cassettes and they are still updating. “Pecos is alive because of the cassettes,” said Elangovan, who has been playing rock, blues and Southern rock for the past 24 years.

“This place has kept the retro ambience alive even today. We try to ensure that classic rock continues to thrive. So far, we have managed to keep the tapes intact and make sure that they work. Sometimes when tapped, they sound even better,” he says with a smile and adds that the songs of the 60s and 70s are still quite popular amongst youngsters. “Songs by The Grateful Dead, Creedence Cleanwater Revival and Jimi Hendrix will always remain a hot favourite,” he added. Elangovan also manages to set up the same kind of environment at two other places, “The only other place where audio cassettes are played is Mojos. We have a similar kind of cassette set up at Stones in Indiranagar. People who want to dispose their old cassettes, come and dump it here. We only collect the best from the lot,” says Elangovan, adding, “Time and again, we keep repairing the audio player and also pick up any old audio cassette player which is intact.”

Another place which stocks cassettes is Windsor Pub which has around 250 cassettes but they are only on display as they have stopped playing from past 10 years. “My boss, Reji Thomas and Satish Thomas, do not like to dispose these cassettes consisting of jazz and old time rocks,” says Raj Shetty who has been working here from past 13 years.

Senior Manager, Anand Joshi says “To go back to the memory lane, we play the same songs, which are now converted into CDs. We have not added any new songs in the 275 CDs we have with us currently. The display is also a major attraction for kids who accompany their parents. They are curious to know about these cassettes when their father or mother explain to them how music was played in cassettes during those days. We still have the audio cassette player.”